The Angels will finally be represented on a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Vladimir Guerrero announced Thursday he has chosen to be depicted with an Angels cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.

Guerrero chose the Angels over the Montreal Expos – who have since become the Washington Nationals. Guerrero, who was elected to the Hall on Wednesday, spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Expos, followed by six with the Angels.

Although his numbers were slightly better, in quality and quantity, with the Expos, he won an MVP and went to the playoffs five times with the Angels.

Guerrero said the choice was difficult, apparently with the Angels’ frequent playoff appearances having an impact on his decision.

“I toiled over this for a long time,” Guerrero said, with Angels broadcaster Jose Mota acting as his interpreter. “Canadian people mean a whole lot to me. Picking the Angels means a lot because of what it represents, with all the winning.”

Guerrero never played in a playoff game for the Expos, for whom he was a four-time All-Star. With the Angels, Guerrero made the postseason in five of six seasons, reaching the ALCS in 2005 and 2009. He also won the American League MVP award in 2004 when he batted .337 with 39 home runs and 126 RBI.

Guerrero also had short stints with the Texas Rangers – whom he thanked for getting him to his only World Series, in 2010 – and the Baltimore Orioles.

The Angels, who played their first season in 1961, are baseball’s oldest franchise not represented by a player in Cooperstown. The others are the Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, expansion teams created since 1993. There also no players depicted wearing a Nationals cap, although there are three (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson and Tim Raines) who represent the franchise’s origin in Montreal. They began playing in Washington in 2005.

Other Hall of Famers who played significant stretches with the Angels – most notably Nolan Ryan and Rod Carew – are shown on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing other caps.

The Hall of Fame curators maintain final approval over which cap a player wears, but they generally go with the player’s preference if it’s one of the logical choices.

“This is such a proud and special day for Vladimir Guerrero, his family, his countrymen in the Dominican Republic and of course all Angels fans,” Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement released by the club. “His election into the Hall of Fame is so meaningful and impactful for so many. We are proud and privileged that he becomes the first player enshrined in Cooperstown wearing the Angels logo. He represented four quality organizations during his playing career and his induction is special for each.”

Guerrero said on a conference call Wednesday night that he was “quite thankful to Montreal, to the Expos.”

“That’s a team that, after some teams overlooked me in the Dominican Republic, gave me the opportunity to break into professional baseball,” he said. “Always thankful for how I was treated in Canada.”

On Thursday, Guerrero credited former Expos manager Felipe Alou for bringing him along as a major league player.

“He gave me the opportunity to be an every day player and even though I was a rookie, he was very patient explaining things to me and continued to put my name in the lineup,” explained Guerrero, who shared the dais with Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Trevor Hoffman, who also were elected to the Hall on Wednesday.

Guerrero frequently referenced his mother, who was at Thursday’s press conference in New York and was with him when he received the news of his induction the night before.

“There was joy all over the house,” said Guerrero, who retired after the 2011 season with 449 career home runs, 1,496 RBIs and a .318 career batting average. He is the third Dominican to be named to Cooperstown, behind pitchers Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez.

“I will be forever thankful for this day. It is a beautiful moment,” he said.